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LAMARâ The Community Resource Center was a primary topic of debate once again as members from the Lamar City Council and the Prowers County Board of Commissioners convened for their monthly joint meeting Tuesday evening.

The Resource Center has been a joint operation between the two governments since it moved into the current location on East Olive Street. The facility serves as a senior center for Lamar area residents as well as houses the Prowers Area Transit Services and the Colorado Workforce Center.

At issue is the financial status and policies surrounding the facility. The commissioners have lobbied in recent years to cap the contingency fund balance for the center and reduce the contribution levels by both entities. The original cost sharing agreement, signed in October, 2004, called for both parties to contribute $30,000 annually with all funds not being spent on facility operations, rolled into the center’s reserve fund.

The city and county in recent months have tentatively agreed to limit the reserve fund to $100,000 and decrease annual contributions to $20,000 apiece. The fund balance as of the end of the 2007 was slightly over $99,000 with year end expenditures for 2007 at approximately $32,000.

During the April meeting the commissioners raised questions over where rent funds from the Colorado Division of Employment, for the space housing the Workforce Center, were being contributed. The rent payments, totaling $11,000 annually, had been contributed back to the Lamar general budget. The commissioners raise the question as to the equitable distribution of expenses and revenues with the rent funds all being assigned to the municipal coffers. At Tuesday’s meeting, Lamar City Administrator Ron Stock said the reasoning behind the rent proceeds not being split

was because the center was purchased with municipal funds. He cited a powerpoint presentation by then city administrator Jeff Anderson calling for the city to receive the rental funds to offset its purchase expenses. The current cost sharing agreement has no provisions concerning rent received for the facility.

“We can either scrap the agreement and have the city take it over and work out something that’s equitable with the county for future participation or maybe we can go back and look at what the current situation is there with the county’s contribution and see how we want to restructure a totally new agreement,” Commissioner Gene Millbrand said.

“I would almost suggest we start all over,” Lamar Mayor Nelva Heath said.

“The fact that there are just a lot of things that were understood (in the current agreement), and I think that’s probably good for 30 or 40 years ago. In this day and age, with all your audits and things that you have to answer to, I think it’s probably better if we had a document that was perhaps clearer defined and still open for negotiations or flexibility too,” Millbrand said.

“If we could make it more clear from this point on, I think it would be advantageous,” Heath said.

The two entities agreed to explore possibilities for creating a new cost sharing agreement for the facility.

Also covered during the joint session, the governing bodies discussed potential repairs on the resource center’s parking lot. small cracks have begun to form across the surface top. The consensus reached during the session was to crack seal the parking lot this winter and explore resurfacing options at a later date.

DeAnne Tyner, who handles much of the management and scheduling for the facility, agreed to organize senior labor to repaint the lines on the lot if the city would provide the paint and necessary forms. Public Works Director Rick Akers said the requisite supplies would be on hand at the center within the week.

The commissioners and council members received a pigeon control presentation from Orkin Commercial Representative Coy Tuck. The presentation was the third option presented to date. The USDA and a local citizen have both presented plans during previous sessions. A joint committee was formed to compare the options and make a recommendation to both organizations. The committee will consist of Commissioner Joe Marble, Councilman Roger Stagner, Ron Stock, Rick Akers, and County Administrator Jo Dorenkamp.